Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A living cell, or a population of living cells, can be modeled such that the response of the living cell(s) to a variety of different environmental conditions can be quickly and cheaply estimated by simulating, using the models, the response of the cell(s) to the different environmental conditions. Such simulations can be performed to assess the efficacy of a treatment (e.g., to preserve human cells or to eliminate cancer cells or microorganism cells), to determine a configuration of an environment to improve the functioning of the cells (e.g., to produce an increased amount of an antibody or other cell product, to increase a rate of division of the cells), to determine a modification of the cell(s) (e.g., a genetic modification) to improve the functioning of the cell(s), or to provide information according to some other application. A model used to perform such simulations could be based on information that is determined about the composition or functioning of the cell(s), e.g., a model of the interaction of proteins, ions, DNA, RNA, or other metabolites or chemicals within one or more compartments within or outside of the cell(s).